How This 25-Year Old Is Using the Bitcoin Boom to Make Millions

Genius EmilyAugust 28, 2017

You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin. But what is it exactly, other than a currency used on The Dark Web? Starting out as a new currency, 9 years ago, Bitcoin is now a sure-fire way to earn some serious cash. Business Insider reports on how this millennial is racking in the millions.

Cryptocurrency

Meet 25-year old Jeremy Gardner, a cryptocurrency investor, and Bitcoin millionaire. Last April, while attending a regional burning man festival called AfrikaBurn, Jeremy checked his twitter feed. He says, “I saw that bitcoin had broken like $2,500 — all the crypto assets had exploded in value.” He continues, “all of a sudden, my net worth in five days had doubled in value. That, to me, was nuts.”

facebook.com/gardnerje

Bitcoin, created in 2008, is a kind of online payment system that allows users to buy things and send money anonymously. These transactions happen outside of banks, there are no records, except for a digital ledger called a blockchain.

The value of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, has boomed this year. In 2015, Bitcoin had a worth of roughly $200 per coin, but it continues to rise to over $4,000 this month. Bitcoin buyers, like Gardner, invest in these assets with the expectation that their value will increase. And now, it’s making them millions.

Millennial Millions

After Gardner dropped out of college twice, he says, “By dedicating my life to crypto assets and blockchain technology, I’ve made more money than I would have ever expected to make in my entire life — by a long shot,”.

bitcoincomic.org

It all started in 2013 when a friend bought Gardner some Bitcoin in exchange for cash. He’d been following the controversy of Silk Road (part of the dark web) and it spiked his curiosity. “There was this realization that I could — with just an internet connection— exchange value with anyone in the world who also has an internet connection,” he said.

By 2014 he was fully convinced, calling himself a “Bitcoin booster”. That same year he founded Blockchain Education Network, which are cryptocurrency clubs at different universities around the world. Today he works at Blockchain Capital, but he doesn’t receive a salary.

He spends his time helping source new investments, and though he doesn’t receive pay he gets a “carry”. This is a share of the profits that the firm makes on investments. In addition to this, he’s working at another start-up too.

Reaping the Rewards

Currently he lives in San Francisco, in a three-story house with half a dozen other tech based entrepreneurs. Dubbed the ‘Crypto Castle’, Gardner claims, “Over a half-dozen people in the time they’ve lived in my house have become millionaires as a result of crypto”.

Just came across a trove of this gem of a business card while unpacking my final bag at the Crypto Castle pic.twitter.com/WO5UCTZNUi

Enjoying his new lifestyle, Gardner travels on the weekends to cities like LA, Miami, New York and Hong Kong. Claiming he wants to give back to the industry that gave him so much, he says, “when we go to conferences, I’ll bring a bunch of people out and buy bottles at the club, pay for dinner and stuff.”

Is Bitcoin the Future?

Gardner certainly thinks so. He expects the mainstream to adopt Bitcoin in “only a matter of time”. And he expects its value to reach the dizzy heights of $10,000 per coin within the next 5 – 10 years. He claims, “We’ve been told that it’s going to die so many times. And yet here it is, stronger than ever.”